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Palestinians propose concessions to Israel

JERUSALEM - The Palestinian Authority offered amnesty to suspected collaborators with Israel yesterday, saying it wanted to cut off the flow of information that has enabled Israel to track down and assassinate a number of Palestinian gunmen and militia leaders.

Despite this shadowy war fought by the two sides, peace talks were to resume today, after a day's break called by Israel over the killing of a Jewish settler by Palestinians near his greenhouse in the Gaza Strip. Negotiators held a preparatory meeting late last night.

In response to the slaying, Israeli troops reimposed a tight blockade on the Gaza Strip, closing the Palestinians' international airport and border crossings. Troops blocked major roads, cutting the strip into three parts.

After 30-year-old Roni Tsalah's body was found Monday in an orange grove near the Kfar Yam settlement, a group of settlers went on a rampage in a nearby Palestinian village. Settlers burned a greenhouse, smashed car windows and shot toward homes.

In the West Bank village of Kfar Salem, a Palestinian man was shot dead in a clash with Israeli troops. Earlier in the day, shots were fired from Kfar Salem at an Israeli convoy, injuring a motorist.

In another West Bank village, Burkin, the body of a suspected informer with Israel was discovered, Palestinian police said.

In all, 369 people have been killed in 15 weeks of Israeli-Palestinian fighting, including 317 Palestinians, 13 Israeli Arabs, 38 other Israelis and a German doctor.

The amnesty announcement was made by Palestinian Justice Minister Freih Abu Medein who said suspected collaborators with Israel who turned themselves in within the next 45 days would not be punished. Instead, the Palestinian Authority would offer them protection and jobs and guarantee secrecy.

Six informers responded yesterday to the offer, officials said.

Abu Medein said the Palestinian Authority was trying to prevent future Israeli assassinations of Palestinian militia leaders.

"The main target for this declaration is just to protect our people, and stop the assassination of our cadres and our people by

Israel," Abu Medein told The Associated Press in Gaza City.

He said the informers were victims. Those who missed the deadline would not be shown mercy, he said.

Palestinian officials have said at least a dozen Palestinian activists have been killed by Israeli commandos in the past two months, presumably with the help of collaborators. Over the weekend, two convicted informers were executed by firing squads in Gaza City and the West Bank town of Nablus.

El Salvador begins post-quake recovery

SANTA TECLA, El Salvador - Relief efforts in the aftermath of Saturday's devastating earthquake entered a new phase yesterday, shifting from the chaos of hundreds of hopeful friends and neighbors digging for survivors to a grim, deliberate effort to find and bury as many of the victims as possible.

Police set the official death toll at 594, with perhaps as many as 1,000 missing and presumed dead.